PUNT SHOOTING. 107 



in those parts, he came away, and, as he termed 

 it, " the place was fairly shot out," and you could 

 not get a shot in peace ; for some fellow was always 

 stowed away in a punt, go where you would. Thus 

 he turned his head to the north, and took up his 

 abode at Kincardine, on the Firth of Forth, and for 

 some time he did pretty well, and made a fair liveli- 

 hood by sending his birds to Edinburgh and Glasgow 

 markets. But things went wrong ; he married a 

 woman who kept a small shop ; people ran up bills 

 which were never paid ; and he came to beggary, in 

 which state he died, I am told. 



There is a good deal of writing in these days about 

 punts, and guns, and wildfowl shooting ; and in many 

 of the breechloading systems, a great deal of rubbish 

 and most dangerous modes of actions systems of 

 easing the recoil, and so forth which are simply good 

 for nothing, the easing the recoil of a punt gun being 

 one of the simplest things in the world, if properly 

 done and proper precautions taken. But into this I 

 shall not enter, and will only say, you may play with a 

 lion, or a tiger, but you must not play with a stanchion 

 gun, lest you should have all your teeth drawn, your- 

 self knocked into next week, and turned out of your 

 boat. 



